A Mute Mate
by Aozora12
Summary: Inuyasha is a full yokai ruling his own lands while raising his young sister, Inume. Kagome is an abused hanyou that has sought safety in Inuyasha's forest. When Inuyasha seeks a mate to help raise his little sister, he stumbles across the kind yet timid Kagome. M for future citrus and emotional pain. Full summary in 1st chapter. Enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Summary:

Inuyasha is a full yokai ruling his own lands while raising his young sister, Inume. Kagome is an abused hanyou that has sought safety in Inuyasha's forest. When Inuyasha seeks a mate to help raise his little sister, he stumbles across the kind yet timid Kagome. Will Inuyasha earn her trust? Will Inume finally have the mother she needs? Will Kagome find true love? Will Inuyasha find happiness? M for future citrus and emotional pain.

Okay, I want to let everyone know that this story is going to be different from usual. In this story Inuyasha is a full blood inu yokai and full brother to Sesshoumaru. Kagome is a black Inu hanyou that was orphaned as a child and has been living in the woods of Inuyasha's territory for a few years.

Inuyasha's background: Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are full blood yokai and brothers. He is very close to his father, who is still alive. He was also very close to his step-mother, Izayoi, who was more like a mother to him than his birthmother ever was. Inutaisho and Izayoi had a daughter together, named Inume, but Izayoi died during childbirth. Inutaisho left Inume in Inuyasha's care and then disappeared to grieve for his lost lover. That was five years ago. Inume, under her brother's care, is learning everything she needs to know about fighting and ruling lands, but even Inuyasha knows that she needs a female role model in her life. So he sets out to find a mate that will accept his hanyou sister and help raise her.

Kagome's background: orphaned as a young child, Kagome, a black inu hanyou, has suffered at the hands of humans and yokai alike. She is hurt, physically and mentally, after one trip to a village where humans and yokai alike beat her and called her names. Now she trusts nobody. She retreats to the forest for safety, where she finds a cave to call home. Now she is a young woman without a home and without love. All she wants is for somebody to show even the slightest sign of love for her, even if it's just a sympathetic human giving her a stale loaf of bread to eat.

Okay, now here's the story:

Chapter One

"Aniki! Aniki!" a cheerful young voice called from deep in the woods, catching the attention of a certain yokai. The yokai opened his amber eyes and looked down at the forest floor from his perch on a branch in the canopy. A young child, no more than seven years old, was running in the direction of his tree, an armful of flowers pressed closely to her chest. The child, a girl, was certainly an adorable little thing, with long silver hair and golden eyes. Two fuzzy white dog ears sat atop her head, twitching occasionally. She was a hanyou, a dog hanyou.

The yokai smirked as he watched the girl approach, searching for her beloved brother, her aniki. As she came closer the yokai stood, balancing gracefully on the narrow branch that supported him. Then he jumped down to the forest floor, his long silver hair flowing easily behind him as he landed lightly on the ground. He turned toward the young hanyou as she smiled happily and hurried over to him.

"Aniki! I found flowers!" the little girl cheered as she showed the yokai all the wildflowers she'd gathered. The yokai smiled down at the young hanyou.

"They're very pretty, Inume." he told her. "Would you like to put them on your oka-san's grave?" The little girl, Inume, quickly nodded her head enthusiastically. The yokai smiled and started to walk away, motioning for the girl to follow.

"Will oka-sama like the flowers?" she asked her brother as she followed him in the direction of her mother's grave.

"Your mother will love them." the yokai assured her, keeping his eyes forward as he walked. "Now hurry, Inume, or we won't reach her grave before it gets dark."

"Hai!" the little girl cheered, picking up her pace to follow her brother at his heel. The two walked in a peaceful silence through the forest, both looking forward to reaching the grave.

They reached the grave right as the sun was beginning to set. It was a small and very simple grave in the middle of a field of gentle pink flowers, surrounded by a dense forest and protected from desecration by a strong barrier. While the yokai stayed near the edge of the field, the hanyou girl hurried to her mother's grave. The yokai watched as Inume arranged the colorful flowers neatly around the grave before stepping back and saying a quick prayer. His sharp hearing allowed him to pick up the young girl's words.

"Oka-sama, today is my seventh birthday. Inuyasha onii-sama finally told me how you died, oka-sama. I'm sorry you died giving birth to me, oka-sama. I'm happy to be alive... but I wish that I had been born when oka-sama wasn't sick." Inume said quietly as she sat down in front of the grave. "I got to see otou-sama last month. He gave me a pretty kimono before he left again. Inuyasha onii-sama says he doesn't know where otou-sama stays all the time. Otou-sama looked so sad, oka-sama. Why is he so sad, oka-sama? Is it because you died? Does he hate me, oka-sama? Because I killed you?"

"He doesn't hate you." The yokai, Inuyasha, spoke up now, appearing behind the young girl and startling her. Inume looked up at her brother and he saw that she was crying. He kneeled down beside her and gently wipe the tears from the young hanyou's eyes. "Our otou-sama loves you very much, Inume. He could never hate you. And you did not kill your oka-san. She was sick and too weak to give birth to you without being cut open, but she did it anyway. She died because she wanted to bring you into the world through a wonderful birth, not have you ripped from her womb through a nasty cut in her belly by an ugly doctor." Inuyasha explained to the girl. "She wanted your beginning to be beautiful, in every sense of the word. And she died for that. She died because she loved you and wanted the best for you. You didn't kill her."

"But if I hadn't been born, Oka-sama would have lived." Inume cried. "And otou-sama would not be so sad and Inume would not be hated..." she cried, talking about herself in third-person as she had when she was a toddler. Inuyasha's heart ached at his sister's tears, and he quickly scooped his beloved little sister up into his arms, holding her close to comfort her.

"Nobody hates you, Inume." the yokai cooed, putting away his tough outer appearance in order to calm his beloved little sister.

"Aniki is a liar! All humans hate Inume! Even yokai hate Inume for being a half-breed! Only aniki loves Inume..." The little girl buried her face in her brother's chest as she cried. He sat down on the ground with her and rocked back and forth, trying to calm the upset girl as best he could. He was never very good with children and it was hard for him to find a way to comfort the crying girl. _This is a woman's job! I love Inume, but I can't handle a crying child! I need to find a woman to help me with her, someone who will accept Inume for the hanyou she is._

"You can't even calm a child. Father should have left her in my care." a familiar voice reached Inuyasha's ears. He looked up and glared at the inu taiyoukai that was the rightful heir to their father's lands, Sesshoumaru. He was standing only five feet away, frowning down at him and the crying girl.

"Shut up, Aniki." Inuyasha growled at Sesshoumaru. "Oyaji left her in my care because I actually _cared_ about his human mate and hanyou child. You just looked the other way when he was trying to find someone to raise her."

"I would have done it had he asked." Sesshoumaru told him. "You merely volunteered before he got the chance to ask me. And now look... you can't even stop the girl from senselessly crying over her pathetic human mother's death when that was clearly the best gift her mother could have ever given her on her birthday." Hearing her eldest brother's words, Inume's crying ceased as she was filled with shock. Inuyasha let out an enraged snarl as he held his sister closer.

"Aniki, if you value your life, leave!" Inuyasha growled as his yoki surged. How dare he say something so cruel and unsympathetic right in front of Inume!

"You cannot start a fight with me, little brother, over a few mere words. Our law prevents such things unless those words challenge another's honor." Sesshoumaru said smugly, crossing his arms with a smirk.

"I cannot fight you for insulting Inume's Oka-san... but I can certainly fight you for trespassing! Did you forget, Aniki? You're on my land! NOW GET OUT!" Inuyasha roared, scaring Inume into releasing a fearful whimper as she tried to hide herself in her beloved brother's arms. Sesshoumaru's smug look finally faded, replaced with a frown. He knew that Inuyasha was right. He could very well fight him for trespassing, and he did not want to end up fighting Inuyasha, who was almost as strong as he was. So he turned and left without another word spoken, leaving his brother and hanyou sister in peace... for now.

"Inume." Inuyasha got his sister's attention now. She looked up at him as he picked her up and jumped up to sit on a tree branch, her tears gone at last but an upset expression still on her face. "Don't believe a single word that bastard says, understand? He's lying. Your mother was not pathetic and crying over her is not senseless. Understand me, Inume?" he asked. The young hanyou girl slowly nodded before a drowsy look crossed her face. Inuyasha saw how tired his sister was and he smiled gently at her, reaching up to gently rub one of her cute dog ears. "Go to sleep, Inume. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Okay, Aniki." Inume said quietly as she nestled in closer to her brother's strong, warm chest. "Aniki... arigato..." She said with a small yawn before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. Inuyasha smiled lightly and leaned back against the tree. He became lost in thought for a while. _Sesshoumaru is right. I'm not suited to raise a child, especially a female. I don't know anything about raising a child. I can't even get her to stop crying. I don't know how to be nice or gentle or considerate. And then there's puberty... she's only a few years away from hitting puberty. I know NOTHING about that! How am I supposed to explain it to her when she starts bleeding? Or when her body starts... changing. Uhgg... I really need to find a woman to help me raise her. Maybe it's time I sought out a mate. Not just for Inume, but for me as well... I wouldn't mind settling down with a mate that I can love and that will love me back. That's it. I've decided._

_I will find a mate._

-Hi! Aozora12 speaking... err, well, typing. Okay, so this is my third fanfic that I will continue updating on. Apparently I have so many different ideas running through my mind. I already have this story completely finished in my mind. Now just to type it... and my other two stories...

As you can see, there's a lot going on inside my labyrinth of a brain, but I'll sort it all out eventually! This story is only going to be about ten chapters in length, but I might add onto it later if I get a really good idea from someone (hint,hint)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Please comment and critique! Oh, but no foul language or hateful comments, please. Constructive criticism is good, but don't go posting things like "I hate this. You suck. Go crawl in a ditch and die." Got it? :)

Also, please no spam. Someone put a whole bunch of wiki links on one of my stories that was like a page long, and they posted that to all seventeen chapters! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ** NO SPAM!**

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Have a wonderful life!

-Aozora12


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The young woman ran from the crowd of angry villagers, running as fast as her injured legs could take her. She tripped several times, allowing the mob to get ever closer to her before she stood back up and continued running toward her safe haven: the forest. Tears rolled down her face from a mixture of physical pain and emotional pain. She'd thought she could finally trust someone, love someone... and then he betrayed her. The human man that was so nice to her, gave her food and said nice things to her... had tried to kill her!

_Why, Hojo-sama? I thought you were so kind. Why did you lie to me? Why do you hate me? Is it because I'm a hanyou? Yes, that's always the reason. Hanyou have no place in this world! Humans hate us and yokai abhor us! But why can't they just leave us alone?! I haven't done anything wrong!_

The woman finally managed to reach the safety of the woods, but she kept running until her beaten and injured body finally gave out. Still crying, she managed to crawl into a nearby cave. In the fading light she examined her wounds through her tears. Her right arm was broken and she had several fractured ribs, but her hanyou blood would heal that within the next three days. The worst physical wound was the hole in her gut from where Hojo-sama had tried to impale her with his sword. Luckily he had missed all the vital organs, and the bleeding had finally stopped, but it would take up to a month to heal such a wound. During that time an infection could develop and kill her. No to mention: she couldn't hunt in this condition. She would probably starve before she died of infection, especially with winter right around the corner. But, somehow, the woman knew she would survive. Now all that was left was the largest and deepest wound of all, the one in her heart.

She had trusted the kind merchant, Hojo. She had trusted him for almost a year, and maybe even loved him. He was so nice to her. He gave her food and a place to stay when it rained. He never said anything mean to her, and he always gave her such a kind and gentle smile. But that smile was obviously a lie, because he gave her that same exact smile when he impaled her with his sword! The woman started crying again as she lay on the cave floor. _I'll never trust again. I'll never love again. How could I be so foolish as to believe that a human would actually care for me?!_

The woman curled into a ball and cried, sobbing loudly in grief without caring who or what could hear her. If some vicious beast heard her sobbing and decided to eat her, she wouldn't care. All she wanted was for the pain in her heart to end. She wanted someone to accept her for what she is. She wanted to trust and love someone... but she knew that would never happen again. So she resigned herself to crying and sobbing loudly until her voice became lost in the wind forever. Something inside her snapped, stopping her voice altogether. Then she simply lay there, not thinking, not feeling, until she eventually fell into a deep and dreamless slumber.

-break-

Inuyasha paused and sniffed the air again, once more finding the enticing scent that had lured him to the outskirts of his land. He had been scouting his lands when he found the scent, a beautiful aroma of honeysuckle and spring rain. It attracted his inner beast, and he was forced by the beast to follow the scent and find the source. Honestly, he wanted to find the source, anyways. His beast didn't even have to force him. He was curious... what kind of creature could possibly have such an enticing scent?

He landed in a small clearing where the scent was stronger. Using his nose he followed the wonderful aroma to a small cave where the scent was floating heavily in the air, accompanied with many other scents. But he knew that these other scents were purely emotional scents. He could smell pain and grief, heartbreak, sadness, rejection, and an overwhelming scent of distrust. His sharp eyes spotted the body lying on the cave floor even through the limited lighting. There was a hanyou woman lying there, curled into a ball with tears streaming down her face as she slept. She was badly injured, but Inuyasha could smell that her injuries were not just physical. With so many emotional smells of pain, he knew that this hanyou had been mentally traumatized and, judging by how strong the scents were, it was very recent.

Inuyasha looked down at the hanyou woman now, taking in her appearance. Though she was covered in bruises and had a gaping hole in her gut, she was quite a beautiful woman, despite her circumstances. She couldn't be more than eighteen human years old. The woman was a dainty little thing, with luscious curves in all the right places despite the fact that she was clearly underfed. Skinny and tall, any man would see her as sickly and lanky and unattractive, but Inuyasha knew that she wouldn't look so unhealthy if she was fed properly. Plus, if you took away the bruises and other injuries that marred her body she would look absolutely stunning. Her wavy raven hair reached down to the small of her back, but there were places where her hair had clearly been cut by her claws in an attempt to escape angry villagers. Her fluffy black tail also had patches of hair missing, although they were clearly burned away instead of cut. Even her fuzzy black dog ears had scorch marks on them, clearly inflicted by human villagers.

Now he looked at her injuries, his keen eyes spotting the broken arm and fractured ribs among the dozens of dark purple bruises covering her body. Her feet were bruised and blistered from running, and she had twisted her ankle terribly. Now it was swollen to the point where she probably couldn't walk for a few days. Then his eyes came to rest on the worst injury, the hole in her stomach where a sword had clearly tried to impale her. He saw no wound in her back so it was safe to say that she wasn't completely impaled with it. But still, it was a terrible injury that would take even a hanyou a long time to recover from, if she didn't die of starvation or infection first. I was clear to Inuyasha that this woman would die alone in this cave without help. She was injured and couldn't hunt, and she was prone to infection and disease. With winter only a few days away, she would surely die before she even began to heal.

Inuyasha, for some reason, felt pity for the hanyou woman. Perhaps it was because of her alluring scent, or the fact that she was hanyou, like his beloved little sister. Either way, he kneeled down beside the woman, placed his hand over the hole in her gut, and used his healing powers to close the wound and heal it enough so that the woman would not get an infection. With the wound closed he knew that her yokai blood would heal it completely in only a matter of days. He healed her ankle, as well, so she would be able to hunt down prey or escape if she was attacked. The woman could find food now, and she could use the cave as shelter. She was taken care of and he did not feel obligated to help her further, but his curiosity kept him from being able to leave her completely alone. He decided to watch her from a distance for a while, so he left, deciding to return the next day to check on her. For now, however, he had a little sister to tend to.

-Hi everybody! I hope you liked this chapter. I might not be able to update this one for a while as I work on my other two stories, but I promise an update will be soon... maybe.

Anyways, please comment and review. I, as always, love the constructive criticism!

Thanks for reading. :)

-Aozora12


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The woman awoke with a start, her nose instantly picking up a strange scent. Someone had been in the cave, only hours ago. She sniffed the air and realized that it was a full blood yokai male. Why had a full blood yokai been in the cave? And... why hadn't he killed her? Yokai hated hanyou... so why hadn't he simply killed her?

She sat up and instantly realized something else. Not only had the yokai let her live... but he'd also healed her. The hole in her stomach was nearly completely healed, and her twisted ankle was no longer injured. Her ribs and arm still hurt, but she could hunt and there was no more risk of infection from her stomach wound. Clearly the yokai had healed her just enough so she would survive and be able to take care of herself... but the gesture itself was still powerful toward Kagome. Yokai didn't often care for others, especially worthless half breeds. The most caring a yokai would be toward an injured hanyou would be to simply put them out of their misery. And yet this yokai had healed her...

The woman took in the yokai's scent and found herself smiling. His scent was very pleasant and comforting. He smelled of pine trees with a subtle wilderness musky scent mingled in with it. She could also smell his lingering emotions. There was a strong scent of interest in the air, with just a little bit of pity and concern. Whoever this yokai was... he didn't smell like he looked down on her for being a hanyou. The woman found herself becoming curious about this yokai. She wanted to follow his scent and thank him, at the very least, but her hunger distracted her. Finally able to move and hunt, the woman decided to go hunting instead. The yokai was probably far away by now, anyways, and she would have to stop and hunt on her way. By then his scent would be gone from the air. Besides, if this yokai was as interested in her as he smelled, he might come back to check on her. She could thank him then and be on her way. She felt obligated to thank him... but then she would get away from him as soon as she could. After all, she still couldn't trust yokai. Even if his scent held no sign of contempt for her, she couldn't trust her nose one hundred percent of the time. She couldn't trust anything anymore...

-break-

"Onii-sama, why do you smell weird?" Inume asked as Inuyasha landed in front of the small palace he called home. Unlike Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha was content to having a small home, although he refused to live in something as small as a commoner's hut. He settled with a small, one-floor palace with about twenty bedrooms, a grand bathing area, a small garden, and a dojo. It was an excellent place to raise the young Inume and teach her about yokai laws and ruling her own territory.

"I came across a young woman on my way home. It's probably just her scent." Inuyasha told his sister.

"She smells pretty. Aniki, are you going to court the pretty-smelling lady?" Inume asked innocently. Her innocent questioned made Inuyasha stop in his tracks. Court her? Why didn't he think of that?! He was looking for a mate, after all. Someone who would accept Inume for the hanyou she was. Who better than a hanyou? Inuyasha wasn't racist, like the other yokai were. He wouldn't even mind having a human for a mate. And this hanyou was very attractive. The only problem was that smell of pain and sitrust coming from her. Inuyasha knew that every hanyou was hated by both human and yokai alike. Because of that they tended to distrust humans and yokai. With how injured that young woman was... she'd clearly be very reluctant to trust anyone other than another hanyou.

That's it! He could go to her in the form of a hanyou! He had the ability to change his appearances, after all, and he could even look like a human if he needed to. Surely turning into a hanyou wasn't that hard. Inuyasha turned to his sister now. "Inume, I need your opinion."

"On what, onii-sama?" Inume questioned, cocking her head to the side.

"Tell my if I look like a hanyou when I'm done morphing, okay?"

"Okay, onii-sama." Inume smiled. She watched as Inuyasha concentrated on his yoki and slowly morphed to look like a hanyou. His magneta demon markings, a single jagged line on each cheek, left his face and his elfen ears moved to be on the top of his head, now silver dog ears. His normally tame silver hair became wild and slightly messy, although it was still as soft and silky as ever. Overall, his appearance did not change much, but now nobody could tell that he was full yokai. He looked very much like a hanyou. "Onii-sama, you're a hanyou! You have doggie ears!" Inume smiled, jumping up onto her brother to reach up and touch his adorable dog ears. Inuyasha chuckled lightly and reached up to caress his sister's ears in turn.

"Tell me, Inume... Does your onii-sama look good as a hanyou?" Inuyasha asked the girl as he carried her inside his palace. Inume nodded enthusiastically.

"Aniki is a handsome hanyou! Aniki should stay this way!" Inume smiled. Inuyasha laughed lightly at this.

"I'm glad you think I'm handsome. But I can't stay like this all the time. It takes quite a bit of energy." He told his little sister. When he saw her pout and her ears droop in disappointment he smiled lightly. "But you will be seeing me like this more often." he added, smiling as she perked up at this.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But the reason is a secret, okay? Don't tell anyone." he winked, making the girl smile.

"Hai, Aniki!"

-Hi everyone! Sorry for the short chapter but the next one will be longer... hopefully. I'm still working on my other two stories, but my priorities are decided based on which one I feel like working on that day. So I apologize in advance if I go a few days or weeks without working on one or the other. Plus add high school and a college class to the mix... there could be some delay, so sorry.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. I have wonderful ideas for the rest of this story, including a possible lemon in later chapters (although I'm not sure since I've never written a lemon before ;)

Please review and let me know if you liked it. Also, sometimes my fingers work ahead of my brain so, if you see any typos please tell me. I don't need a beta reader since I'm extremely careful with my grammar and spelling, but I'm not perfect so please help out.

Thanks! :)

-Aozora12


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The woman whined quietly to herself (think dog-like whine) as she ran a hand through her furry black tail, frowning at the patches of burnt hair. Her beautiful soft black fur had been scorched by those ruthless humans. She sighed as she realized that, even with her yokai healing ability, it would take a while for her fur to regrow on her tail and ears. She looked down at her reflection in the water of the small spring she'd found and sighed again. She looked like a mess, even with her bruises healed. Her beautiful long hair had several places where it was shorter, from where she'd cut it in an attempt to escape the villagers that grabbed her by the hair. It would grow back quickly, but it would still take about a week or two. There was a cut on her lip that had yet to heal, because her yoki was focusing on healing her more serious injuries. The fractured ribs were slowly healing but it still hurt to take too deep of a breath. Her broken arm still had yet to begin healing, but she had put a brace on it to keep it from getting any worse. The wound in her stomach was still taking up most of her healing ability, but overall she was much better after that strange yokai healed her. She really had to thank him. He'd literally saved her life by healing her.

Just as she was thinking about the stranger, his scent drifted past her nose. The woman looked up quickly, her eyes turning toward the trees and her ears flicking constantly on her head. She focused on the trees intently, and soon she saw movement. She gasped in surprise at what emerged.

It wasn't a yokai, even though her nose told her that his scent was one hundred percent pure yokai. It was a hanyou. A very, very attractive male inu hanyou. He was tall and lean and clearly very muscular, although his bright red haori and hakama his his well-built body. Long silver hair reached down to the small of his back, and two silver dog ears twitched at the top of his head. Two beautiful golden eyes stared at her, belonging to a very handsome face that was borderline with god-like. The man gave her a fangy smirk and the woman found herself blushing as she stared at the handsome newcomer.

_This hanyou... he has the same scent that I smelled in the cave. But he clearly smells like a full yokai... or is my nose damaged from the smoke of those villagers' torches? That must be it, because this man is clearly a hanyou. If he's a hanyou... does that mean I can trust him? He's an outcast, too. He's hated by both humans and yokai simply for being born, just like me... right? He understand my situation, right? He won't hate me for being a hanyou, because he's a hanyou too... Can I trust him?_

"I'm glad to see you're healing nicely." the man suddenly spoke, surprising the woman with his smooth and charming baritone. He stepped closer to her and she quickly stood. She tried to say something, but it ended up in a coughing fit before she could even get the first word out. She whimpered when the coughing fit finally ended and she noticed the blood in her hands. The stranger noticed it, as well, and he hurried over to her. "Did you injure your throat?" he asked her. The woman slowly shook her head as her eye filled with tears. Her throat had been perfectly fine until last night, when she was sobbing in her cave. Now her throat felt as if it was on fire when she tried to speak, although her inu sounds were still fine. "Can you speak inu?" the new hanyou suddenly asked her in the ancient inu language. The woman slowly nodded and responded.

"I can speak inu. But my human voice seems to be damaged. I do not know why." she told him, her ears flattening to her skull. "I was going to thank you for healing me, but then my throat began to hurt."

"Let me see." The man said, his eyes full of concern. This surprised the woman. Nobody had ever been truly concerned for her well-being. Why did this man care? Was it because he, too, was hanyou? In any case, the woman let him see her throat but, when he began to wrap his fingers around her throat, she whimpered and pulled away, suddenly fearing for her life. She quickly backed away from the man as fearful tears came to her eyes.

"Please, don't kill me. I've done nothing wrong..." She cried in the language of inu. The man took a step closer to her and she took a step back.

"I won't hurt you." The man told her. "Won't you trust me? Why would I kill another hanyou?"

"I can't trust anyone. I've been hurt too much..." she cried, earning a sympathetic frown from the other hanyou.

"How can I make you trust me?" the man asked. The woman hesitated. What would make her trust him? She couldn't think of anything until she took in his scent again.

"Tell me why you smell like a full yokai." The woman whimpered in inu. The man hesitated, staring intently at her for a second. This ruined his plan of gaining her trust in a hanyou form, but maybe she would trust him if he told the truth. He sighed as he realized that, if she could smell that he was a yokai, she could also smell if he was lying. She wouldn't trust him if he didn't tell her the truth, but she might not trust him if she found out that he was a pureblood. What to do, what to do...

"I will tell you, but you must trust me after that. I promise I will not hurt you." he said. The woman slowly nodded. "I smell like a full yokai because I am one." As he said this he returned to his original form, a yokai of royal blood with demon markings on his cheeks and a royal crescent moon symbol on his forehead, the same silver color as his hair. His dog ears went away, replaced with elfen ears on the sides of his head, and his messy hair became perfectly straight and flawless. The woman instantly stepped back from him, fear filling her eyes. She knew from his scent that he was a yokai, but actually hearing him admit it made her instantly afraid of him. Yokai were worse than humans. Humans would only beat and taunt her, but yokai would actually kill her.

"I told you I would not hurt you, and you agreed to trust me." The yokai frowned as the woman stepped back from him. When she looked like she was about to run away he reached out and grabbed her wrist, of her uninjured arm, firmly, but gentle enough so he wouldn't hurt her. "You have no reason to fear me. I know hanyou are treated poorly by humans and yokai, but I swear I will not hurt you. I've even healed you so you won't die."

"How do I know you are not tricking me? If I let my guard down around you, you'll kill me!" The woman cried as she tried to pull free of his firm grip. "That's already happened to me once! I will not be fooled again!"

"You have been tricked before? How?"

"A human merchant... he gave me food and a place to live. He told me that he didn't hate me and, when I fell in love with him, he tried to kill me! He was the one to give me the wound to my stomach! He tricked me, just as you are trying to do! But I will not fall for it!"

"I am not trying to trick you!" the yokai told her. "If I wanted you dead I would have left you alone in that cave. I would not have healed you and I certainly would not have returned to check on you."

"You lie! All yokai hate hanyou!" the woman sobbed as she stopped struggling against his iron grasp. "Everyone hates hanyou... even hanyou hate themselves!"

"How can I hate a hanyou when the person I cherish the most, my own little sister, is a hanyou?" the yokai frowned, surprising the hanyou woman. "My father mated with a human woman, a very kind human woman that was more of a mother to me than even my birth mother was. They had my little sister together, and she is the sweetest creature I've ever met... and she is a hanyou. I, truly, do not hate hanyou, and I promise I do not want to hurt you. I have done nothing to make you mistrust me, short of hiding my appearance. I have healed you and I want to heal your throat. Even now, I could crush your wrist in an instant, but I'm not even hurting you. I do not beg often, but I will make an exception this once. So, please... trust me." The woman looked up into the yokai's eyes and saw complete honesty filling those golden eyes. It was the look in her eyes that finally made her trust him. There was no way this yokai was lying to her... not with eyes as honest as those.

The yokai saw that the woman stopped resisting, so he slowly reached out his hand. She flinched as he touched her neck, but she made no move to get away. Even though she was shaking with fear she let him wrap his fingers around her neck. His hand began to glow a dull red color, and the woman felt the soreness in her throat beginning to fade. She looked up at the yokai and saw that he seemed to be concentrating on something, and he was frowning.

"While you were weak from your injuries you managed to get an awful infection in your throat. It would have killed you if it was left untreated. I have stopped the infection and healed your throat as best as I can... but it may be a while before you can speak normally again. Until then you should only speak inu." The yokai told her as he took his hand away from her throat. Then he moved his hand down and healed her stomach wound some more. After that he healed her ribs and then her arm, healing her enough so that the healing process was started and her yoki could take over and heal her even faster. When he finished he let go of her hand, half expecting her to run away now that she was free. Instead the woman stayed, looking up at him with curious, although still frightened, eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked him in inu.

"I am Inuyasha." the yokai told her. He thought about telling her his status, as well, but decided against it. She would only be more afraid of him if she knew just how powerful he was.

"Arigato, Inuyasha-sama, for healing me." The woman said, giving him a bow out of respect.

"You're welcome." Inuyasha smiled, surprised that, even though she was still afraid of him, she was thanking him. So she had a sense of duty? That was interesting. "So what is your name?" he asked as she stood up straight again. When he saw the woman flinch at his words he frowned. "Don't tell me... you don't have a name?" The woman slowl shook her head, her ears flattened to her skull in a mixture of shame and sorrow.

"I was orphaned as a very young child, and I was too young to remember my own name. Since then people simply refer to me as half breed." she said quietly. Inuyasha smelled fresh tears in her eyes and he frowned. This woman truly did have a terrible life.

"Would you like a name?" he asked, surprising her into looking up at him. He smiled lightly at the young hanyou woman as she nodded, her eyes filling with more tears. "I will come back tomorrow with my little sister, and we'll pick out a name for you. Sound good?" he asked. The woman nodded and Inuyasha smiled again. "Meet me here at noon tomorrow." he told her. Then, in a flash, he was gone.

-Hi people! Oh, Inuyasha was found out! Originally I was planning on him always coming to her in a hanyou form so he could gain her trust, but then I realized that, when he finally revealed himself, she would no longer trust him. I'm not good at writing heartbreaking type stuff and, when I tried it for this story, it ended up being really crappy. So I edited it a little and now he's discovered during his first meeting with her.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Reviews, please! I'm so glad you guys like this. You have no idea how much you're boosting my confidence with your wonderful reviews! Thank you!

-Aozora12


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five  
The woman looked around the clearing before looking up at the sun. It was nearly two hours past noon. Inuyasha had told her to meet him at noon. Where was he?

She wanted a name. She had always wanted a name. Many times she thought of giving herself a name, but she couldn't think of one that would suit her. So she had resigned herself to being a nameless half-breed forever, but that didn't mean she liked it. She so desperately wanted a name, like the one she had when she was little. If only she could remember it. She remembered seeing her parents. She remembered that they called her something, but she couldn't remember what they called her.

The woman glanced up at the sun again and sighed. The yokai wasn't coming. He'd clearly lied to her. He had built up her hope, enticing her with a name, and then crushed it into tiny little pieces. She would never have a name.

The thought of remaining nameless forever made the woman start to cry. Why? Why couldn't she have a name? Why couldn't this one good thing happen to her? What had she done to offend the kami that they would hurt her like this?

She really, truly, wanted a name. Any name other than half-breed was fine. But it seemed she would remain nameless. The woman let her tears fall as the pain and hurt within her grew. She had been tricked again, even after she promised she wouldn't fall for any more tricks. She couldn't begin to describe how much her heart hurt. She had decided to trust Inuyasha, if only once, and now she regretted it. He may have healed her physical wounds, but he'd only made her mental pain even worse.

The woman was too lost in her crying to notice the figure standing over her. It wasn't until something tugged at her kimono sleeve that she looked up and saw the yokai, Inuyasha, standing there. A little girl, no older than seven years old, stood beside him. She was the one who tugged her sleeve.

"Onee-sama,don't cry." The girl frowned. The woman stared at her. She was a hanyou. She looked very similar to Inuyasha, with long silver hair and gorgeous golden eyes. But she had no demon markings, and there were two adorable little dog ears on the top of her head. She wore a pretty pink kimono with colorful butterflies on it. She was a very cute little girl, and she was looking at the woman with childish sympathy.

The woman looked up at the full yokai now. He was staring down at her, an apologetic look in his eyes. As she looked at him he spoke. "On our way here a rogue yokai attacked us. I had to fight it off, and that's why we're late." he told her. He had too much pride to apologize directly, but he hoped the woman understood that he was, indeed, sorry for being late and making her think that he wouldn't keep his promise to give her a name. It made him feel absolutely awful to think that he had given the woman even more heartbreak, just because he was late. He wouldn't be surprised if she never trusted him again.

"You... didn't trick me...?" The woman questioned quietly in Inu, staring at him in shock. He had... kept his promise? He was the first one to ever keep his promise to her.

"Why would I trick you? I told you I would meet you here, and I always keep my word. We were just... late." Inuyasha explained. The woman continued to stare at him in disbelief, and he found this somewhat depressing. She really didn't trust anyone, and she actually expected to be fooled by everyone. It was a sad life she led, and it made him uncomfortable to think about all the pain she'd surely endured all her life. So he switched topics, hoping to snap the woman out of her shocked trance. "This is my little sister, Inume. She's a hanyou, like you. Inume, say hello." Inuyasha said to his sister.

"Hello, onee-sama." Inume smiled, giving a quick bow. "Inuyasha onii-sama told me to help him give you a name." This made the woman snap out of her trance. She looked at the little hanyou girl, who was smiling brightly at her. Then she turned back to Inuyasha.

"You'll... really give me a name?" she asked in inu as more tears came to her eyes. The little girl frowned at the tears.

"Why do you cry? Do you not want a name, onee-sama?" the girl asked innocently.

"N-no... I want a name." the woman cried in inu. "I really want a name..."

"Then we'll give you a name." the hanyou child smiled. She looked up at her brother. "Aniki, what should we name her?"

"What do you think would suit her?" Inuyasha asked. The girl looked at the older hanyou woman intently for a while.

"Onee-sama is very pretty. She should have a pretty name." Inume smiled brightly at her brother. Then she frowned. "But I can't think of one..."

"How about..."

The hanyou woman watched quietly as the brother and sister tried to find a name for her. She tried to dry her tears while she waited, but she found it nearly impossible to stop crying completely. She managed to slow her tears to a small trickle, at least, but she was too relieved and surprised to stop her tears altogether. The yokai hadn't tricked her. He had kept his promise, and now he was trying to name her. There was a strange feeling in the woman's chest as she thought about this. It was painful, but pleasant, and it made her want to cry some more, but not because she was in pain. She wondered why she felt this, but then Inume squealing snapped her back to the present.

"That's it, aniki!" the little girl cheered as she bounced up and down with excitement. She turned to the woman now. "My aniki picked the perfect name, onee-sama! Tell her, aniki!" she cheered happily. The woman looked to Inuyasha now, who smiled lightly at her.

"Your name is Kagome." he told her. As he said her new name the world seemed to freeze around the woman. She had a name before, when she was little... and now she remembered it. It was Kagome. That was what her parents had called her... and that was what Inuyasha had named her. Kagome. She was Kagome... and Kagome had a name!

Time resumed and the woman, Kagome, simply sat there and stared at Inuyasha in utter disbelief. How had he known her name? It couldn't be just luck. It couldn't be a mere coincidence. He, somehow, knew what her name was. But how? Well, it didn't matter right now. The fact of the matter was... he had named her. She was no longer a nameless half-breed. She was Kagome!

Within the span of a second, Kagome was on her feet and hugging the yokai, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you!" she cried in inu into his chest. "Thank you so much... I've always, always wanted a name... thank you, thank you, thank you!" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. Then she suddenly realized that she was hugging a full yokai, one who probably didn't appreciate having a woman cry on his chest and get his shirt wet. She quickly backed away, her ears flattening against her skull and her tail lowering until it was nearly between her legs. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I just..."

"It's okay." the yokai smiled lightly at her. "You don't have to apologize, Kagome." he assured her, using her name. Hearing her name used already made that strange feeling return to her chest. She just wanted to cry and hug the yokai, but she restrained herself. She forced her tears away, mostly, and she stepped back from the man, giving him a very deep bow.

"Arigato... arigato." she said quietly in Inu. Then she turned to Inume and smiled gratefully at the child. "You, too. Arigato. I can't begin to describe how thankful I am to you two. Thank you so much..."

-Hello again! I hope you liked this chapter. I was really attempting to bring out Kagome's emotional pain and make it so you felt her pain as well (not that I want you in pain) I'm really curious as to how well I did. If you felt like your heart was breaking for Kagome, please tell me! If not, tell me what I did wrong (but be nice about it)

Anywho... this entire chapter was about giving Kagome a name, but it also the most critical point in my story (so far) because this is where he starts to really trust Inuyasha. But I'll go into that later on in the story. In any case, please review! It's so nice to read your reviews and know that I'm giving you a story you like. I know I've certainly been disappointed in a story before, several actually. That's why I decided to write my own stories. So I hope you like them, and I hope I don't disappoint. :)

From your friendly neighborhood author,

-Aozora12

THANKS FOR READING! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Kagome sat quietly in the shade of the trees and watched as Inume played in the water, cooling off from the heat of the day. She'd never seen another hanyou before. Well, not a real one. Inuyasha's transformation was the closest she'd ever come to another hanyou.

"She's an orphan, like you." Inuyasha's voice suddenly came from behind her. Kagome quickly looked up to see him standing there, his eyes trained on his sister. "Well, not a complete orphan... but close to one. Her mother was human... and she died during childbirth. Our father, he couldn't come to terms with her death. He left Inume in my care so he could mourn for his mate without ruining his daughter's life."

"Ruin her life?" Kagome questioned quietly in inu. "How?"

"Have you ever seen a man, a yokai, brought to his knees with a mere word?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome quickly shook her head. "Our father is one of the strongest taiyokai in the world, let alone Japan. But a mere word can bring him to his knees and make him cry like a helpless child. And Inume would say every single word that could do that to him. Mom. _Where is oka-san?_ Mate. _Will I find a mate, otou-san?_ Love. _Do you love me, otou-san?_ There are so many more, too." Inuyasha sighed. "Inume has asked me every last one of those questions, and more. If she lived with father and asked him those questions, he would constantly be in tears. Inume would think it's her fault, and she'd be swallowed by the bitterness and despair brought by the thought that she isn't loved by even her otou-san."

"That's so... sad..." Kagome said quietly, feeling tears in her eyes. "At least I knew that my parents loved me. I knew that someone at one time loved me. That was all that kept me going, at times." Kagome explained quietly. "I can't imagine going through life thinking that not even my parents loved me."

"That is why my father left her with me, and not my brother."

"Would your brother not love her?"

"Sesshoumaru hates hanyou." Inuyasha frowned. "Despises them, even. Hell, he _hunts_ them!" he growled, keeping his eyes trained on his little sister. "Knowing him, he would create an 'accident' that would rid him of Inume's presence forever while leaving him completely innocent of the girl's life. Bastard."

"And why do you care?" Kagome asked curiously. "Why are you different from your brother? Why do you care for your sister, even though she is a hanyou?"

"That's simple." Inuyasha smirked. "I don't believe in hating just because of race. Now, I'm not entirely hate-free, of course. But, as far as I see it, if there's no obvious and real reason to hate you, I don't hate you." he shrugged. "Inume has done nothing evil or wrong to deserve the hatred of others. She was merely born into the world as a symbol of two completely different individuals loving each other. How is she different from a human child, then? Two completely different individuals having a child out of love... to humans that sounds like the most beautiful thing in the world. Even yokai would like to have that. But then you look at a hanyou." Inuyasha sighed, looking at Inume again. "Hanyou are not born to be heirs. They are not born to carry on a regal bloodline. They are born because their parents loved each other. How is that wrong? How does that deserve hate?"

"You really love your sister, don't you?" Kagome smiled gently, yet sadly. She looked out at the happy girl playing in the water, and a pang of loneliness hit her hard, almost knocking the air out of her lungs. "I would give anything for someone to care about me like you care about your sister."

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome and his heart ached for her. She was so lonely and unloved. At least Inume had Inuyasha to care for her, but Kagome was all alone. Inume had never experienced the cruelties of life, the true pain of being a hanyou, because Inuyasha had sheltered her from those things. But Kagome grew up with those cruelties. She lived through them all alone. Now she was hurt and broken and in desperate need of help. So Inuyasha thought fast and found a solution.

"You know... I'm not very good with kids. Especially girls. I can't think like they do, and I certainly can't explain some _certain_ things very well." Inuyasha suddenly said as he watched his sister. "Inume needs a female role model to help her with life, but one that will accept her as a hanyou. Who better than another hanyou?" He smiled lightly at Kagome. "I know we don't know each other well... but could I possibly bring Inume here once or twice a week to see you?"

"Y-you would trust me with your sister?" Kagome questioned.

"You seem trustworthy to me." Inuyasha smiled. "And Inume seems to have taken a liking to you."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can sense it." Inuyasha told her. "To protect Inume better I made a blood bond with her when she was a small child. I can sense her emotions. If she's ever nervous or afraid I'll know it and I'll be able to go to her and protect her if she's in danger. But I can also sense when she'd happy or sad... or when she likes someone." he smiled. "Inume may have just met you, but she already feels like you're her sister. She doesn't take to strangers very well so, if Inume likes you, I feel like I can trust you."

Kagome stared up at Inuyasha and he smiled down at her. He trusted her, even though he just met her... just because his little sister liked her? Was this yokai crazy, or just very trusting? They were strangers, and yet he was going to trust her with his sister's well-being. Kagome didn't know what to think of this man... well, not completely. She did manage to suppress a blush when she saw his handsome smile. The only thing she could think about Inuyasha was the he was incredibly handsome. The rest of him, however, she had no clue.

-break-

"Aniki, I'm hungry!" Inume told her brother as she hurried out of the water. She shook herself dry, much like a dog, and then she ran to her brother and the young woman, Kagome. At the thought of food Kagome's stomach rumbled. She blushed deeply as Inuyasha smirked down at her.

"I'll hunt down a boar and we'll roast it, then." he told his sister. "You two get a fire going while I'm gone." Inume smiled happily and nodded enthusiastically before hurrying over to Kagome.

"Onee-sama, lets gather wood together." Inume smiled as she took Kagome's hand and pulled her to her feet. The little girl led a somewhat frazzled Kagome into the forest as Inuyasha watched with amusement before disappearing in a flash to hunt.

-break-

"Look, onee-sama! Berries!" Inume cheered when she spotted the bush of dark blue berries while they gathered wood. She started to run to the bush but Kagome quickly stopped her, dropping her wood to get to the girl in time.

"They're poisonous. Look." Kagome pointed to a bird that was flying to the bush. It ate a berry, and seconds later it fell to the forest floor, dead. Inume's eyes widened and she turned to Kagome.

"You saved me onee-sama! Arigato!" Inume smiled brightly at Kagome. Her cheery smile spread to Kagome. This girl was just too adorable and happy, and Kagome couldn't help but smile and feel warm around the girl. So Kagome smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in years as she and Inume gathered wood together in the forest. For the first time in a long time she felt... what was this? Happiness?

Kagome didn't get to decide what this new emotion was. As she was still mentally contemplating this new-found emotion the world around her was suddenly thrown into chaos. Many things happened at once. Kagome bent down to retrieve another fallen limb, Inume walked around a tree, and a loud roar filled the air, followed by Inume's piercing shriek. At once Kagome dropped her wood and ran after Inume. She found the girl frozen in place, staring up at a demon bear in fear. Kagome almost froze in terror, like the girl had, but she quickly forced her fear away. She grabbed Inume and ran as the beast began to charge at them, letting out another loud roar that hurt Kagome's ears. Despite having an injured throat, Kagome couldn't help but let out a scream of her own.

-break-

Inuyasha's head snapped instantly toward the sound of the roar followed by screams. One scream had clearly been Inume's, and he assumed that the other scream was Kagome's, especially with how raspy it sounded. He felt Inume's terror, and he knew she was too afraid to even run. He could only pray that Kagome had grabbed his sister and ran from whatever made them scream. He started running at his top speed toward the girls.

He finally found them after what seemed like an eternity but what was really only thirty seconds. Kagome was running through the forest with Inume in her arms, a hungry bear yokai chasing after her. The bear was on her heels, trying to grab her by the tail with his teeth, and Kagome could probably feel it breathing on her back. She was crying out of fear as she ran, and she was quickly losing the strength to keep running. both Kagome and Inuyasha knew that it would all be over if she tripped or reduced her speed even slightly. The bear would kill her and Inume instantly... but Inuyasha wasn't about to let that happen.

Inuyasha growled loudly, distracting the bear long enough for Kagome to jump into the trees with Inume, who had passed out in her terror. The bear roared angrily at losing its meal, and it started to attack the tree they landed in with his paws, making the tree snap in half with just one swipe. Inuyasha jumped into the falling tree and grabbed Kagome before jumping to another, thicker, tree. "Stay." he growled at the woman before he leapt down to the forest floor to face the bear.

The bear yokai roared loudly in annoyance when it saw that its food had escaped. Then it turned its attention to Inuyasha, who had just landed in front of the beast. Inuyasha drew his sword, growling loudly at the demon, who roared in response. The beast charged at Inuyasha and, with the quick flick of the wrist, he severed the beast's head off completely, not even getting blood on his blade. The bear's body slumped to the ground, its head rolling a few feet away. Inuyasha merely smirked. It seemed they would enjoy some tasty bear for lunch, instead of boar.

Kagome's whimper got Inuyasha's attention now. He instantly heard the pain in her whimper, and he knew that she was injured. He quickly jumped up to the branch where she was sitting. She was still crying in fear, her body still shaking and her ears still flat against her skull. Her eyes were full of fright and pain, and she was holding an unconscious Inume close to her person. Inuyasha could smell Kagome's blood in the air, and he quickly searched for the source of it. He spotted the small bit of blood on the corner of her mouth. Her scream had injured her throat even more than it already was, and she'd coughed up blood. Then he also spotted another source of blood. The bear had managed to scratch Kagome's right shoulder with its huge claw, and now there was a deep gash in her shoulder. He also noticed that she'd twisted her still-healing ankle again, and her broken arm, which had just begun to heal, was now broken again. Inuyasha was surprised that the hole in her stomach hadn't reopened during the whole ordeal.

Now Inuyasha looked over his sister, surprised to find that she was completely uninjured. There wasn't even a scratch on her. Kagome had shielded his sister from the bear's attacks, and she had gotten severely injured in doing so. Inuyasha could only marvel at how protective Kagome was. She barely knew Inume, and yet she'd risked her life to keep her safe. Even now she was holding the girl close, as if she was the most precious thing in the world. She even growled at Inuyasha when he tried to take the girl, her pain and fright and tears making it hard for her to recognize him as the girl's brother.

Inuyasha stared at Kagome in shock for a moment when she growled at him, her tail swishing quickly behind her in fright and anger. She wasn't about to let any harm come to Inume. Her tears impared her vision and her pain made her dizzy to the point where all she could see was a hazy white figure clad in red in front of her. She didn't know this figure, and she feared danger. So she kept the girl securely in her arms and growled. She had no energy left to run or even fight, so she prayed that the figure in front of her wasn't hostile. Until she was sure of anything she would keep Inume close and protect her to the best of her ability.

Then Kagome suddenly heard a voice. She couldn't understand it for a while as she tried to focus on listening. She had to close her eyes to concentrate better, and that's when she recognized that the language was inu, and the baritone voice was very familiar... "The danger is gone." the voice told her. "The bear is dead. I am no threat. Remember me? It's Inuyasha. I'm not going to hurt you or Inume." the voice said. Kagome's eyes snapped open now. It was Inuyasha?

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome questioned quietly, looking up at the hazy figure. Her eyes focused just long enough for her to recognize his face. It really was Inuyasha. Inume trusted her brother. But what about Kagome? Could she trust him, too? _Yes_, Kagome finally decided, _I think I'll trust him. Please don't make me regret it. I can't handle more disappointment_. The world began to spin again, and everything faded to black. Kagome fell forward and Inuyasha caught her. When he looked down he saw that she was unconscious.

-Hello Everyone! It's me, Aozora12! I just have to apologize, because I sort of rushed through this chapter. So if it seems to be moving too fast, gomen! (sorry for you english speakers) Anyways, I also feel like, maybe, I made Inuyasha too sentimental (soft, if you don't know what sentimental means). I'm going to fix that, promise, but I needed to give Kagome a good reason to trust him.

-Okay, now Kagome trusts him, so the actual healing/love story begins now! But first Kagome has to recover from her injuries.

And now I have a question for you guys.

How many of you think that Kagome is going to be permanently mute because she injured her throat too much? Your answers will not affect the story, because I've already got that part written out. I'm just curious to see what you guys think. :)

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. Please review!

-Thanks,

Aozora12


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

It was darkness, endless darkness. Kagome looked around, but nothing but blackness stared back at her. She tried to speak, but her throat felt like it was on fire. She tried to move but jolts of pain shot through her body. She managed to make a sound, a whimper full of pain, but even this caused even more pain. She was scared and in pain, she could see nothing, and she could hear nothing other than the sound of her own whimper. But then, suddenly, a warm red light reached her vision. It washed over her and made the pain go away. Kagome stared into the red light and felt its comforting warmth that soothed both her physical pain and mental fear. She felt... safe in this red light. But, as soon as it came it left. She was no longer in pain, but now she was afraid again. She watched in fear as the red light slowly faded, and one thought filed her mind as darkness finally surrounded her once more.

_Wait, don't leave me..._

-break-

Inuyasha stared down at the unconscious hanyou woman and frowned. She still hadn't woken up, and it had been three days since the bear attack. He had healed her as much as he could, but she still had a long way to go until she fully recovered from her injuries. Even with her yokai blood healing her faster than a normal human, it could only do so much for her wile she was unconscious and unable to focus on healing. It didn't help that she hadn't eaten since... well, Inuyasha wasn't even sure when her last meal was. As skinny as the poor woman was, he was sure it had been a while since she last had a full stomach.

"Aniki." a sad little voice reached his ears now. Inuyasha looked up from Kagome and turned to his young sister. She stood at the sliding door to the room Inuyasha had put Kagome in. He'd taken her to his palace so he could heal her and keep a closer eye on her. Living in a cave would do very little for the woman while she was healing. At least in the palace she could be clean, warm, and well-fed. Normally Inuyasha would not go to such extents to care for someone he barely knew... but Kagome had saved his sister, and she was a possible future mate to Inuyasha. So he decided that Kagome should be better taken care of, especially when he planned to have Kagome be a mother figure for Inume.

"What is it, Inume?" Inuyasha asked his sister as she stood at the door, looking like tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Is Kagome onee-sama okay?" Inume whimpered, staring at the woman that had saved her. Inuyasha stared at his little sister and smile lightly, waving her over to him.

"She'll be fine, Inume. She just needs to rest and heal." He told Inume as she hurried to his side. As he said this, Kagome stirred a little and let out a whimper. Inuyasha looked down and saw that her face was twisted in a painful grimace. She was clearly in pain, but Inuyasha could do little for her. The pains came with healing from the severe injuries she suffered... and the most he could do was ease them for a while. He placed his hands on her worst injuries, the gash on her shoulder and her broken arm, and focused his healing powers into the wounds, trying to at least sooth the pain for a while. His hands glowed a dull red color as he transferred his healing energy to the woman. Soon enough the pain faded and Kagome returned to her deep, dreamless slumber.

"Onii-sama... I want onee-sama to wake up..." Inume whimpered as tears came to her eyes. Inuyasha smelled his sister's salty tears and frowned. He hated it when she cried, but at least this meant that she liked Kagome.

"I know, Inume. But she needs to rest. She will wake up when she is better, and then you two can play." Inuyasha smiled lightly at his sister. "Why don't you find some flowers to give her when she wakes up? I'm sure she would like that."

"Okay, onii-sama." Inume said quietly, offering her brother a small smile. Then she left, off to find some flowers for the woman that had, without a doubt, saved her life. She would have surely been eaten if Kagome hadn't grabbed her and run away from the bear. Inuyasha watched his sister leave and sighed quietly before returning his attention to Kagome.

"Wake up soon, Kagome."

-break-

Kagome stared into the darkness, longing for the red warmth she'd felt earlier. She was no longer in pain, but now she was alone and afraid. She didn't know why she was in the darkness. She tried to remember something, anything... but she could only remember that dull red glow that had given her warmth and taken away her fears and her pain. Aside from that, the only memory she held was her name. Kagome. She knew that name was hers, and she felt warm and happy when she thought about her name, but she didn't know why. Of course, her happiness only lasted the briefest of moments before the darkness frightened her again.

Kagome managed to let out a frightened whimper, a whine sounding like that of a dog's. She could feel her ears pressed against her skull and her tail tucked nearly between her legs. She was afraid. She didn't like this black void she was in. At first she feared that she was merely dead... but, for some reason, she knew she wasn't dead. She was alive, but unconscious. But why? Why was she in this void? She could feel herself slowly healing. Was that why she was here? Had she been severely injured to the point of going comatose to heal? If so, then what happened to make her this injured? She couldn't remember anything... only her name and the light... and the fear...

-end chapter-

-Hi again! Sorry for the super short chapter but I was experimenting with the void and fear thing as well as trying to find a transition for the next chapter. I will try to update very soon, but graduation is coming up soon and that comes with finals and graduation rehearsals, and then prom is this weekend, my sister's 16th birthday is tomorrow, and I have a paper due on Monday so... it might be a while but I promise to try and get in another chapter quick.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think. :)

-Aozora12


	8. I'm back!

I'm baaaccckkk...

Hello to all my beloved readers. This is my official return to fanfiction after taking a 3 month break to refocus on God. Now that I am sure this will no longer be an obsession I have decided to reward everyone's patience with a chapter update. All my stories will be updated sometime within the next week! And I might even post a new story here soon, too. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding with my situation. I know I scared a lot of you when I said I was leaving for good, so I apologize. I will make this clear, however. If I feel like this is becoming an obsession again, I will take another break. If that happens I will tell you in my stories, but I do not think it will happen again.

Thank you so much for putting up with me. I am so thankful to have such wonderful readers like you. :)

One last thing, I will not appreciate rude reviews or comments about my religion. It is my choice to be a Christian and to live how God wants me to. I do not condemn people for not believing what I believe. I don't go around hating on atheists or gays or anything like that. In fact, I have friends that are atheist and/or gay. All I do is show them that I live how God wants me to. I do not try to convert people, I merely share what I believe and leave it up to them to decide if they want to know more. I know my religious views may offend some people in other religions, and I apologize if that is the case, but I will not apologize for believing what I believe or for following Jesus. Therefore, I do request that foul language not be used in my reviews, or that anyone posts anything hateful about my religion. Constructive criticism on my stories is well-recieved, so long as it is polite and courteous.

Thank you,

Aozora12


	9. Chapter 8

I do not own Inuyasha, sadly. All rights go where they are due.

Chapter Eight

Inuyasha sighed in relief as he checked Kagome's injuries. She was healing rather well now. He had found a way to get some food and water into her and, with that nourishment, she was able to heal. Now it was just a matter of waiting for her to wake up. And he was positive that would happen soon.

The wound on her shoulder was nearly completely healed now. Her broken arm had healed a few days ago, and the swelling had gone down in her ankle. The hole in her stomach was completely healed now, but it would take a few years for the scar to fade completely. The fur on her tail had grown back from where it was scorched by villagers' torches, and the same went for her ears. All her bruises were long gone and, after being fed by Inuyasha for the past two weeks while she was unconscious, she was putting on some weight. She looked much healthier now than she had since he first met her.

Inuyasha leaned back against the wall and sighed again. Inume had been so depressed lately. She was very attached to Kagome already, and really wanted her to wake up. She came to Kagome's room every day and put fresh flowers in the vase near the bed. Then she would stay and simply watch Kagome for a while, hoping to be there when she woke. The little girl knew that Kagome had saved her life, and that made her feel all the more attached to her. She viewed the older hanyou woman as her older sister, or even perhaps a surrogate mother.

Inuyasha thought back to that day in the woods. Kagome had protected his little sister fiercely, like she would have done if Inume was her own pup. She had protected her like a female inu protected her own young, and she would have gladly died to protect Inume if it came down to that. They only knew each other for a day, and already Kagome felt so strongly for the girl that she would protect her with her very life... it amazed Inuyasha. And it assured him that Kagome would make an excellent mother, and a wonderful mate. In the short time he'd known her he had seen that she was very kind and gentle, and extremely protective of those she cared for. She may have some trust issues because of her past, but that could be worked out eventually. Now, if only she would wake up. He couldn't ask her to court him if she was still asleep, after all.

-break-

Kagome looked around the void, which was slowly becoming lighter and less frightening. Her memories had slowly come to her, and she remembered Inuyasha and Inume. She remembered the bear yokai and saving Inume. That bear was why she was in the void. She had been so injured that she became comatose in order to heal. But it was worth it to save Inume, the sweet little girl that had made her feel happiness for the first time in a very long time. Kagome knew she would gladly die if it meant the sweet little girl could live.

While she was in the void she often saw that warm red light. It would come and go, lasting mere seconds, and it would ease her fears of the dark void. The light called to her and made her feel safe and warm. She knew she had to find the source of the light when she woke up. She wanted to be near that source. It made her feel so calm and safe and loved...

Love... when was the last time someone showed her love? She had thought Hojo loved her, but it was a lie. Before then, well, she could only remember her parents showing her any semblance of love... and she had been too young to remember much of it. But this light... it made her feel loved, but in a different way than her parents had loved her. It made her feel so... so... she couldn't name the emotion, but it was pleasant.

Kagome sighed in the void, a small smile on her lips. She knew she could trust the light's source. When was the last time she had trusted someone? Hojo no longer counted. Kagome knew the light could be trusted, and she swore to find its source when she awoke. She would follow the source no matter where it went. Anything that could make her feel so safe, loved, and happy could surely be trusted with her very life.

She had no idea just how right she was.

-break-

Inuyasha dozed lightly, leaning against the wall of Kagome's room. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, coming to rest on the young hanyou woman lying before him. He stared at her intently as he listened closely to what had woken him up. Her heart beat was speeding up, as was her breathing. The inuyokai realized with a pleased smile that the young woman was finally, after nearly a month of being comatose, waking up.

The yokai hurried out of the room and stopped a servant, telling them to bring plenty of food to the room. The servant hurried away to do as told while Inuyasha returned to Kagome's room and returned to his place by her side, just as she opened her beautiful ocean blue eyes.

Kagome slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Everything was still hazy because of her extended sleep, but slowly her sight focused on a pair of golden eyes that were staring at her with a look of relief. The young hanyou woman blinked a few times, trying to get rid of her sleep, as she looked into the golden eyes that made her feel so safe and warm. Then she allowed herself to focus on the face, and she smiled sleepily when she found it was Inuyasha, the yokai that had healed her and even given her a name.

She remembered the attack with the bear yokai, then. She remembered how he had saved her and Inume. She looked around and saw that she was in a room, and she realized that he must have taken her to his home to heal her. She did, indeed, feel much better than even before the bear attack. She knew he had healed all of her injuries, and she knew that he was that light she had seen in the void. So she decided at that moment that she would always trust this yokai. She would always follow him, even if it meant she became a servant or even a slave. She would do whatever she could to stay by his side... for he was the only one in the world she knew she could trust with her life.

-break-

Hi to my beloved readers! I apologize for the shortness of this chapter but there was really nothing else I could add without spoiling the next chapter. Thank you all for being so patient with me and waiting for my return! I was going to leave Kagome in the void a while longer but, since I have returned to fanfic, I decided to reward you with Kagome waking up!

Please review, but be nice about it. Thanks! :)

Aozora12


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